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Leaving a night nurser overnight

My son is 12 months. He still nurses lots overnight. I'm going to be leaving him in about a month for two nights. DH can get him down initially ok with a ring sling and a bottle. We are mostly worried about what happens when he wakes in the middle of the night. Which can be 6 or more times. Any pointers?

Mama to my little Piglet 5/9/11, nursed to approximately 19 months. Expecting #2 in early June! We happily , , and .

Re: Leaving a night nurser overnight

i don't think that would make anything easier. but then, i don't have 13 month old yet, so ...

i guess i would leave extra bottles so baby can take them during the night with DH and then trust that he will do his best and it will be ok even if it's hard for all three of you. i had to be away for 2 nights at 6 months, and they made it. DH didn't do anything but take care of the baby while i was away - not sure he even ate - but they were fine.

Re: Leaving a night nurser overnight

I would have had a miserable time trying to night wean my son at 12-13 months. Molars are often working their way through at that time (which takes forever), and mine was working on lots of new words at that time; so sleep was pretty terrible. I really needed nursing to get him back to sleep quickly.

I was hospitalized for a few days when he was around 6 months old and nursing around the clock. During my hospital stay, my husband or mom slept next to the baby and kept a couple bottles right there on the nightstand so that he could quickly have his milk and fall right back to sleep. From what I was told, it wasn't all that bad.

Re: Leaving a night nurser overnight

If the milk isn't fresh, can it sit out all night? He'll have to use mostly frozen milk while I am gone. (This trip is going to kill my freezer stash). He may have one or two recently pumped bottles, but they won't be within 8 hours, more like a couple of days. Do you have any suggestions as how to do that safely? Could we do it with cow's milk and a crock pot?

Mama to my little Piglet 5/9/11, nursed to approximately 19 months. Expecting #2 in early June! We happily , , and .

Re: Leaving a night nurser overnight

That's fine. I would just thaw and keep it on ice in a thermal container next to the bed overnight. It should be fine. You might want to try leaving one small bag of thawed milk on ice before you leave, then smell and taste it in the morning to make sure it keeps okay.